Ontario includes Hwy. 401 tunnel on list of nation-building projects [Video]

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has a list of projects he wants the newly-elected Liberal government to consider, including a controversial, long-term plan to dig a tunnelled expressway under Highway 401.

On Monday, Ford wrote to Prime Minister Mark Carney to identify the “nation-building” projects in Ontario he would like the federal government to support by streamlining approvals.

The letter includes gaining all-season access to the mineral-rich Ring of Fire in northern Ontario, new nuclear generation projects and a new deep-sea port in James Bay.

Also on the list of projects Ford said would take the country forward was his government’s controversial plan to build a 50-kilometre expressway below Highway 401.

“As the premier stated in his letter, it’s a nation-building project, one of the largest projects that will probably be undertaken in Ontario and maybe even across the country,” Transportation Minister Prabmeet Sarkaria told reporters on Monday.

“I think it’s …